Honey Tresses and Silver Eyes
by SkinnyLittleSlut
Summary: In which Remus is cynical and lonely, and Sirius is abused but overly optimistic. The two keep on meeting by chance and feelings start to develop, and Sirius looses his joy. Can ever-cynical Remus bring it back to him? Wolfstar slash.
1. Chapter 1

Remus Lupin was bored.

He was scanning books in an old bookstore in a cranny buried deep within Diagon Alley. He was starting Hogwarts school in a few days, and he fully intended to stock up on books before then, because he fully believed that no one would want to be his friend.

He tried to convince himself that he didn't care, that books were all he needed, and most of the time, it worked. But sometimes, he'd lay awake, his book tossed aside, and his chest would ache as he desperately yearned for someone that he could call his friend.

With every transformation came new additions to the scars on his body and face, and with every new scar, less and less people would communicate with him, until he had to face the upcoming term completely alone.

The only people he'd talked to in the past two years were his parents. He loved them deeply, and was intensely grateful for all their support, but he wanted something more. Needed something more.

A gaggle of giggly girls entered the store, making the little bell ding, and Remus sighed, his serene quiet disturbed by their superficial conversation.

Five minutes later, and Remus was extremely annoyed. The girls had gathered on the bookcase in front of him. He was hidden from their sight, but he was in full earshot of their chatter, and it was beginning to make him pretty mad.

He wanted to curl up in the armchair where one of them was carelessly flopped down in, mindlessly flicking through one of his favourites and snorting.

Her two friends continued to giggle, and another five minutes passed, before Remus decided he was done.

"Oh come on. No one is _that hot._" he exclaimed, and was met with three pairs of judgemental eyes.

"Excuse me?" one of them asked, raising her eyebrows. Remus sighed.

"I can hear you. The entire bookstore can hear you. Hell, the entirety of Diagon Alley can probably hear you. If you don't want opinions and eavesdropping, then don't talk so damn loud." he grumbled.

The girls glared at him for a few seconds, and resumed talking at the same amplitude.

Remus peered over the top of the small bookcase angrily.

"I'm not even kidding now. It's physically impossible for anybody in the entirety of the human race to be 'so hot that you want to rip your ovaries out because he practically makes you orgasm every time you see him'." Remus snapped, pulling a face at the last sentence.

"How would you know?" the middle girl asked, tossing her long waterfall of blonde hair haughtily.

"Yeah, you're a guy. You wouldn't get it." the left girl stated, nodding her head.

"I'm a very _gay _guy. And I've seen some pretty hot guys, but not one of them has made me have an orgasm just with their presence." Remus rolled his eyes.

"Erm, have you _seen _him?" the girl in the armchair squealed. Remus shook his head disinterestedly.

"I don't have to see him to be fully aware that it's not bloody possible." he groaned.

Suddenly, Remus found himself ambushed by three sweet-smelling girls, two of whom linked arms with him and yanked him out of the bookstore.

"What are you doing?!" Remus spluttered, in complete shock.

"We're proving a point!" the blonde girl exclaimed, and dragged him into the main part of Diagon Alley.

"Oh my _God."_ Remus groaned.

A huge group of girls were gathered outside the pet store, but they weren't cooing over the cute little owls in the window.

"Go on!" the girls urged, shoving him past eight or nine girls and straight into the door.

The shop, surprisingly, was empty, except for a boy who looked to be around Remus' age, sweeping the floor.

"Hey there. Looks like the cutest thing in this entire shop just walked in though the door." he boy grinned, winking at Remus.

Remus raised his eyebrows.

"Are you proud of that line?" he inquired cooly, and the other boy chuckled.

"How can I help you?" he asked.

"I'm looking for a pet. Hence why I'm in the petstore." Remus shot back, and the other boy's lips pulled up into the most adorably cute grin Remus could fathom.

"Of course. My apologies. I was just distracted by your cute little face." he said sweetly.

Remus scoffed.

"Are you serious right now?" he asked, and was pretty surprised when the other boy threw back his head and started laughing.

"Well yeah, actually. Sirius Black, nice to meet you." the other boy said, extending his arm for a handshake and still chuckling.

Remus' cheeks flushed, but he didn't know why.

"Remus Lupin." he answered back shortly, taking Sirius Black's hand.

A warmth emanated from the contact point of the two boys and rushed around Remus' body in less than a second, making him slightly dizzy. He went even redder, quickly pulling his hand away.

"So what kind of pet are you looking for?" Sirius Black asked, leaning against the counter and shooting Remus a lazy smile.

"Owl." Remus decided, and Sirius nodded.

"You look adorable with that owl." Sirius grinned, and Remus rolled his eyes, gently releasing the owl back into the cage where it hooted indignantly.

"Great, now I can't buy it. In fact, I may have to leave here pet less, just to make a point to you." Remus sighed, but a little smile was pulling at the corner of his mouth.

"That petty, huh?" Sirius Black asked, slouching against the back wall and crossing his arms, where were exposed because he'd rolled up the sleeves. He was wearing a white dress shirt, with a black waistcoat over it.

"Pretty much." Remus confirmed, and let an amused grin grace his lips.

"You've got a pretty smile. As a matter of fact, a lot of you is indeed perfect. Especially that adorable outfit." Sirius Black grinned, winking at Remus.

Remus clapped his hands in mock excitement.

"Oh my God thank you so much!" he said excitedly, and Sirius Black opened his mouth with a proud look in his eyes.

"Maybe tomorrow night you can sleep over, and we'll paint each other's nails and braid each other's hair!" Remus squealed, and the pride in Sirius Black's eyes melted away, replaced with a huge amount of amusement.

He raised his eyebrows, but a grin was tugging at the corner of his lips.

Remus let his delighted expression drop, replaced with one of complete seriousness, and shot Sirius Black a smirk, before walking out of the store.

"Hey, wait! You forgot your..."

But Remus had already gone, leaving Sirius Black standing there with a battered book in his hand.


	2. Chapter 2

Remus Lupin was nervous.

He was stood on Platform nine and three quarters, chewing his lip anxiously.

His mother had had to leave him earlier than she wanted to, but she had a lot of work stuff to do, so Remus had let her go with a calm reassurance and a sincere smile.

He was alone, watching red plumes erupt from the exhaust on the train, one hand holding his trunk and the other tapping against his thigh nervously.

He took a deep breath, figuring he should get on the train already before it left without him. Headmaster Dumbledore was giving him an amazing opportunity; it simply wouldn't do to miss it.

Just as he was about to move, a huge disturbance to the right of him caught his attention.

An ungodly screech was tearing through the eardrums of everyone on the platform, and Remus grimaced, searching for the source of the scream.

He discovered the noise to be emanating from one woman, with long black hair scraped up into a tight bun and eyes as black as pits. She was physically shaking with anger, howling like a banshee at someone he couldn't see. Next to her stood a formidable looking man, scowling deeply, and nervously hopping from foot to foot next to them was a young boy, no more than three years younger than Remus, with silky black hair curling over his forehead.

"Don't dare walk away from me young man! Come back here this instant!" the woman screamed, but whoever she was addressing at didn't seem to care. Remus shuddered. He had no idea who dared to disregard her like that, but he at once wished he had their guts, because they must be pretty bloody brave. Remus was intimidated just _watching _her scream her soul out, never mind being the target of that anger.

There was a ten-student ratio around the woman who had fallen quiet but didn't dare to stare at her, otherwise, nobody really seemed to notice the furious woman.

Another long scan of the platform made Remus realise that whoever she was howling at, to his horror, appeared to be running _right towards him._

They were running too fast to be identifiable, and Remus, suddenly scared, moved out of the way.

Of course, he forgot about his trunk, and the person, whoever it was, went flying over it and crumpled on the other side, landing on their back with a slight groan.

Remus peered over the trunk with his head full of apologies, but they all seemed to disappear.

"Remus Lupin! What a surprise! I see you've met my loving mother."

Sirius Black was grinning merrily at Remus from the floor, his eyes full of pure, unadulterated amusement.

Remus was gobsmacked, but still extended his hand over the top of the trunk to pull Sirius Black up.

"Thanks mate." Sirius laughed, dusting down his dirty clothes.

Today he had on a pair of black skinny jeans and a Led Zeppelin shirt on, also black, but Remus recognised him by the long, dark hair and aristocratic features.

"I thought it might be you. Even your fall is pretentious and arrogant." Remus informed him smoothly, and Sirius began to laugh, clapping Remus on the back.

"You do know how to make a guy feel better." he cracked.

"I wasn't trying to make you feel better." Remus said bluntly.

"Really?" Sirius gasped, his expression full of mock hurt.

Remus raised one eyebrow.

"Maybe if you didn't try so hard, the sarcasm would come naturally to you." Remus smirked. "So, I assume the woman who's still screeching her hair off is your girlfriend then?"

Sirius laughed.

"Is she still going on with herself? I tend to tune her out."

Remus chuckled, but in all honestly, he felt a little bit sorry for Sirius Black. That is, until he saw the aimless smile that was always present on the other boy's face, and his worries were settled somewhat.

"Well, I'm gonna get on the train. I suggest you do too, before she pushes you under it." Remus grinned awkwardly

"Is that concern I hear in your voice, Remus Lupin?" Sirius exclaimed, resting his elbows on Remus' trunk and elegantly leaning on them.

"No. See, the thing is, if you got tossed under the train, then none of us would get to go to Hogwarts. And it'd be your fault, therefore you being safe is in everyone's best interest." Remus explained boredly, and yanked his trunk out from under Sirius, who staggered backwards, cursing, yet still somehow, happiness sparkled in his heavy-lidded eyes.

"See you around." Remus muttered, and pulled his trunk wearily to the train.

* * *

Halfway through the journey, Remus had already read half of one of his new books, and was engrossed in the second half, intently concentrating. He was slumped in a compartment on his own, and was visibly relaxed.

Even though he wanted human contact, Remus always had felt more comfortable being alone. He liked the space, and feeling like he was invisible. He wasn't happy; simply content.

That was, until a long-haired boy crashed into his compartment and disturbed the peace.

Remus looked up with a scowl, and wasn't surprised in the least to see Sirius Black in a giggling heap at his feet.

He bookmarked his page with a sigh and kicked the other boy gently, but he seemed unable to move.

Looking up, there was a messy-haired boy leant against the door, also chuckling.

He was wearing thick-rimmed glasses that suited his face, and was adorned in a teal and black check shirt and black jeans, smirking down at the half-dead Sirus.

"So you must be the infamous Remus Lupin." the boy at the door drawled, and Remus felt a cold finger of dread run down his back. However, it was quickly dissipated when the other boy gave him a warm smile and offered his hand for a handshake. Remus noticed his eyes linger on the scar on his cheek a little too long, and then he met Remus' eyes once more, giving him a genuine grin with no fear or disgust in it. And then Remus felt himself relax.

"He'll probably be there for the next ten minutes, so we may as well stay, if that's okay with you?" James asked politely, looking straight at Remus.

Remus nodded, leaning over and moving his jacket from the seat opposite him, and James not-so-carefully walked over Sirius, giving him a soft kick to the stomach, which made him groan in pain.

"So how long have you two known each other?" Remus asked, gesturing to the dark heap on the floor.

"Five minutes, maybe? He gatecrashed my compartment. But he's a bloody good laugh." James informed him.

"Means a lot to me, mate." came a gasp from the floor, and Remus looked down, smiling despite himself when he saw streams of happy tears dripping down Sirius' cheeks. He lay on the floor, trying to recover, whilst Remus and James continued to politely converse.

"What's so funny?" Remus finally asked, his curiosity and slight paranoia overcoming his politeness.

"I don't even know. I think it was the word 'pigeon' that set him off?" James answered, and rolled his eyes when Sirius exploded into peals of laughter again.

"I swear he's on drugs." James grumbled, and Remus snorted with laughter.


	3. Chapter 3

Remus Lupin was cautiously content.

Sirius and James had stayed in his compartment for the rest of the journey. Conversation had began to flow much more easily between Remus and James; James seemed remarkably comfortable around him now, and vice versa.

It almost felt like he had friends.

However, all good things, of course, come to an end.

On the way to the carriages, Sirius staggered over his too-baggy robes and thwacked straight into a mousey-haired boy. Sirius had shot him an apologetic grin, but when the boy's eyes filled up as he stared at his bleeding knees, Sirius had swept him up, tossed him over his shoulder and started sprinting towards the castle. The boy had been shrieking with laughter, his tears forgotten, because at five foot seven, Sirius was already a great deal taller than the majority of the year.

So after Sirius had ran off, a flame-haired girl had caught James' eye, and he had apologetically slid away from Remus in an effort to catch up with her and her extremely greasy-haired companion.

Remus sighed, and continued on his way.

* * *

"Are you Precious?"

A squeak interrupted Remus' studying of the vast amounts of paintings surrounding them, and he turned round.

"Excuse me?" he said incredulously, recognising the small, pudgy boy Sirius had ran into earlier, who's eyes had gone wide.

"Uh, Sirius, he, uh, he had to, go, and he said, uh, he said, wait with precious, and uh, pointed over here, I must be mistaken I'm so sorry." the boy stuttered, and Remus groaned.

"No, not to worry, he meant me. But my name most certainly isn't precious. Remus Lupin."

Remus stuck out his hand and the other boy almost collapsed in relief, clutching Remus' fingers in a sweaty death grip and shaking violently.

"Peter Pettigrew." he exploded.

Thankfully, they were interrupted before the other boy could embarrass himself too much more by Sirius, who had a lazy grin on his face.

"Ah, so I see you two boys have met!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah, and if you refer to me as Precious ever again, something precious is going to get rammed up your arse." Remus said pleasantly.

"Your cock?" Sirius replied sweetly, and Remus' cheeks instantly flared into a scarlet colour, realising he'd been outwitted. Sirius winked at him cheekily.

"So what house do you reckon you're gonna be in, Remus?"

The awkward silence was broken by James.

"I dunno. Ravenclaw probably." Remus answered, twirling his fingers around a loose thread in his robes. "You?"

"Gryffindor is where I've wanted to be Sorted since I was old enough to understand what it was." James informed him proudly. Sirius looked up.

"I'd love to get put in Gryffindor. My parents would spontaneously combust with anger." he chuckled. "But everyone in my family has been put in Slytherin since like, the beginning of time." Sirius muttered, pulling a face.

"Alright first years. Follow me!" called a formidable woman, leading them all forward.

"My name is Professor McGonogall, and the Sorting Ceremony is about to begin. Please line up in a single file line and _maintain silence please_."

At this point she was glaring directly at Sirius, who simply closed his mouth and gave her a pleasant smile. She sighed.

The silence lasted for a fair few minutes, tension beginning to build. Peter was almost in tears.

"Alright. Follow me." Professor McGonogall called, and they all shuffled after her.

* * *

_"Black, Sirius."_

'_Good luck'_ Remus mouthed at Sirius, as the grinning boy bounded up to the stool and the Sorting Hat slipped over his eyes.

It stayed like that for a minute, and Remus was confused. Sirius appeared to be conversing with the hat, his mouth moving wildly.

At last, they seemed to come to a decision, and the Hat screamed out "_Gryffindor!"_

The entire hall descended into a shocked silence. In fact, the only three people in the entire room who were showing any happiness whatsoever were of course, Sirius, his smile joyful as he strutted to the table and dropped into the seat, James, who was practically radiating happiness next to him, and for some strange reason, Headmaster Dumbledore, who's blue eyes were twinkling.

An array of booing broke the silence, and Sirius turned round, and with a pleasant expression, gave them a middle finger.

"I don't get it, what's the big deal?" Remus murmured to James.

James shrugged.

"A Black being put in Gryffindor is unheard of." came a whisper from behind them, and they both turned.

"Sorry, I'm Frank, Frank Longbottom." he said awkwardly.

James and Remus nodded in acknowledgement, watching the next person stumble up to the stool.

"The Blacks are hardcore Purebloods. Obsessed with status and all that malarkey. They hate anyone who isn't Pureblood, think they're beneath them or something. But pretty much every single Black to come here has been put in Slytherin, 'cept his cousin Andromeda, and she was disowned." Frank mumbled, and Remus stiffened in shock, staring over at Sirius, who was flirting with a raven-haired girl.

"Jesus." breathed James.

* * *

"_Lupin, Remus."_

Remus swallowed thickly, his legs shaking as he tried to walk confidently. Headmaster Dumbledore nodded at him and shot him a small smile, and that increased his bravery somewhat as he collapsed on the stool, a small bead of sweat dripping down his forehead.

_"Ah, interesting. Very interesting."_

Remus visibly jumped at the small voice right next to his ear, realising it was just the hat.

_"You have the brains of a Ravenclaw, that's for sure."_

Remus sighed slightly, reserved to his fate, but felt his eyes drawn to the ebony-haired boy who was watching him intently, shooting him smiles of encouragement.

His first friend.

_"And yet so much suffering. You have the bravery of a Gryffindor, too."_

Remus' heart leapt, and he closed his eyes, hoping with all his might.

"_Very well then. Gryffindor!"_

A daze grin curved Remus' mouth upwards, and he stepped away from the table, met with cheers. Sirius' were the loudest, as he dragged the smaller boy into the seat next to him.

* * *

"_Potter, James."_

James swaggered up to the stool in much the same fashion as Sirius had, with easy confidence. The hat was barely even placed on his head before it screamed '_Gryffindor!'_

James was met with cheers as he walked smugly over to the house of his desire, and Remus shot him a shy grin. Sirius was whistling with all his might, grinning madly, and he high-fived James as he sat down.

"Knew it." James said smugly.


	4. Chapter 4

Remus Lupin was anxious.

It was their first breakfast in Hogwarts. He was sat with Sirius, James, and Peter at the Gryffindor table and stabbing at his food to try and escape the anxiety the Slytherins and their glares were giving them.

James was deep in conversation with Sirius about the line between pranking and cruelty, and they both seemed oblivious. Peter was letting out the occasional squeak.

"Stop looking behind you, Peter." Remus hissed. The other boy was visibly sweating under the cold eyes of their rival house, and yet he couldn't seem to stop himself turning round every five seconds to check if they were still looking. For the third time since they'd met him, he looked close to crying.

Remus rolled his eyes, and out of his peripheral vision, he saw an onyx-coloured owl gracefully swooping towards them.

He cleared his throat, and Sirius looked up.

"Um, Sirius?" Remus asked, chewing his lip and glancing towards the owl.

Sirius followed his line of vision, and a sigh escaped his mouth.

"Brace yourselves, lads." he murmured.

James frowned, and the owl landed on the table, dropping a fiery red envelope on the table.

Quiet engulfed the hall. The Gryffindors were staring at the boy in confusion, whilst the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were shooting him sympathetic looks. The Slytherins were openly laughing, but everyone had braced themselves.

Sirius picked up the trembling letter and boredly tore it open, throwing it into the air.

_"Sirius Orion Black!"_

The entirety of the first-years were once again partially deafened by the hellish screech emitting from the envelope. Sirius yawned.

"_You have disgraced everything that the Black family stands for!"_

Sirius held his hand up and gestured for James to high-five it, which he did. The grin was back.

"_How dare you get yourself into Gryffindor! Shame of my blood, rebellious little brat! The pure audacity you have, consorting yourself with half-bloods and Mudbloods!"_

The hall was filled with gasps of shock and outrage from three of the four houses. People were angrily staring at Sirius, who picked up his knife with a pissed expression and slammed it through the letter, pinning it to the table with such force it made the plates clatter.

The anger had somewhat faded into awestruck silence as the students watched the furious letter try to rip itself free. Sirius was glaring down at the Howler with such fury in his eyes that they visibly darkened. And for the first time since he'd met the other boy, Remus felt a tinge of fear in his bones, and shivered.

He'd never seen anyone that angry in his entire life.

The Howler wriggled free and took into the air again. It had time to scream _"besmirched the Black family"_ before the pure strength of Sirius' rage made it explode into flames.

Sirius looked up, and met Remus' eyes.

Remus saw the anger there melt away into a satisfied twinkle, and to Remus' shock, he then proceeded to climb up on the table.

"On behalf of all the half-blood and Muggle-born students here today, I'd like to apologise for my mother and her ridiculous views on society. I for one, believe everyone is worth a lot more than their heritage." Sirius yelled pleasantly, and dropped back into his seat.

The hall was silent for a few seconds longer before it exploded into a huge round of applause. A huge riot had started up at the Slytherin table as people were whacking into each other in their hurry to 'wring his neck'.

Headmaster Dumbledore rose, and clapped his hands together, silencing the shell-shocked students.

"Thank you for that, Mr. Black. I shall be seeing you in my office later for the first detention of the year, as you appear to have left quite a substantial scorch mark on the table." he boomed, and Sirius gave him a cheeky thumbs-up.

"Now if everyone would be kind enough to return to their food, that would indeed be lovely."

Dumbledore then sat down, not even trying to mask the beam on his face.

People were fawning around Sirius all day, and Remus could tell that he loved it. He was revelling in the attention, and especially the girls.

James, thankfully, had given them an alternative to skulking around, waiting for Sirius to be done snogging any girl that threw themselves at him, in the form of planning a prank on the Slytherins for their treatment of Sirius this morning.

They were in the corridor when a third-year Slytherin turned Sirius' hair into green and silver. Sirius had walked off after that, and returned halfway through Transfiguration with the colours changed into gold and red, adorned with an adorable grin.

Professor McGonogall didn't even reprimand him for it, once the class began to shout protests when they saw her lips purse. She even allowed him to walk around with it all day, with firm instructions to return to her before dinner so she could turn it back. Sirius was delighted, and spent the rest of the lesson joining in with their planning.

Sirius was late to dinner, but returned with his normal hair. He slumped down with a sigh.

"Wha's u'" asked James, with his mouth full.

"My hair. It's just so...boring." Sirius murmured, but his eyes were sparkling.

Remus grinned at him, tucking into his mashed potatoes.

After that, though, a girl approached their table, and when Sirius glanced up boredly and got the same look on his face that he'd had this morning with the Howler, Remus knew there would be trouble.

Her hair looked a lot like Sirius' mother's, except it was hanging loose in knotty curls. There was a cruel smirk on her face as she grabbed Sirius' arm. Sirius struggled to get free, but the girl maintained a vice-like grip on his arm and dragged him away.

The three of them were quiet.

Remus was back to chewing his lip. Judging by the ease with which he'd been able to lift Peter last night, Sirius wasn't a weak person. So that girl was apparently stronger than Sirius, and that in itself, was quite worrying. Also, the likeness between Mrs. Black and the girl was unnerving, and Remus found his stomach clenching into knots, so much so that he pushed his plate away, favouring his lip.

Sirius returned in quite a state.

To start with, he burst through the doors at a sprint, the dark haired girl yelling after him.

His usually perfect hair was rumpled, and his clothes were in disarray, crumpled in two places like someone had grabbed him pretty hard. He had a red slap mark on his left cheek and finger marks around his neck. Remus almost exploded with worry, but the ever-present gleam was still lit in Sirius' silvery eyes.

He squeezed in between Remus and Peter, lying his head on Remus' shoulder, trying to catch his breath back. Remus shifted, slightly uncomfortable.

"Uh, Sirius? You okay there?" he asked awkwardly, and Sirius moaned, gazing up into Remus' eyes.

"You smell like chocolate, which is what I normally eat after Bella tries to kill me." Sirius grinned up at him, a rough edge to his voice.

Just then, the food transformed into a vast array of deserts, but Sirius missed it, his eyes closed.

Remus pulled over a dish of chocolate cake and put a little bit on the spoon, wafting it under Sirius' nose.

His eyes immediately snapped open, and he seized the spoon, hungrily digging it into the cake. He'd devoured the entire thing a few minutes later, the other boys watching in horrified fascination.


	5. Chapter 5

Remus Lupin was slightly annoyed.

It was half seven in the morning, and he had a pounding headache. He'd been woken by an over-excited Sirius leaping on his bed and bouncing up and down, repeatedly chanting "Wake up Remus!"

He kicked his legs up and sent Sirius flying to the floor, burying his face into his pillow and groaning.

When the boy continued to chant, Remus reserved himself to his fate and picked up his pillow, flinging it at Sirius and collapsing back down on his bed.

"Sirius, it's half bloody seven in the morning!" he complained, glaring at the hangings above his head.

"You're gonna miss breakfast." was Sirius' only response, and Remus scowled, sitting up and rubbing his temples.

He took in the rumpled Sirius, who was still sprawled out across the floor. He was fully dressed, and his grin was set on his face, but Remus frowned slightly when he caught sight of dark bruises decorating the smooth, pale skin of his long neck.

He rolled over and landed on top of a giggling Sirius, leaning his head back to further examine the bruises. Sirius had quietened.

"What are you doing?" he asked confusedly.

"There's bruises all over your neck." Remus murmured in response, gently pressing one. "I can heal them for you, if you'd like."

Sirius shook his head, shoving Remus off him.

"Nah, leave 'em." he grinned, and Remus frowned again but didn't push the matter.

He got dressed in a sleepy haze, stifling several yawns from behind his hands, and followed a hyper Sirius down to breakfast.

James and Peter were already there, both shovelling food into their mouths. Remus winced as he sat down, feeling nausea bubbling in his throat, and picked at a dry piece of toast.

"You alright mate?" James asked, through a mouthful of fried bacon.

Remus nodded.

His headache was tearing at his skull, and he felt incredibly ill and fatigued.

* * *

They headed for classes, and only when the teacher announced the date did Remus realise what the date was.

He visibly paled.

Sirius was shooting him concerned looks from across the classroom, along with James, but he ignored them, staring at the numbers scrawled across his parchment.

Tonight was the night of the full moon.

* * *

Throughout the entire day, worry was eating away at his stomach. He was incredibly tired, resting his head on the desks in all his lessons and praying that he'd be excused from being asked answers. Thankfully, he was, and by some miracle, managed to make it through two lessons without vomiting all over the table.

At the start of his third lesson, he padded up to the front and quietly requested an excusal, one arm protectively across his stomach, his eyebrows knitted with worry.

He was sent back to the dormitories after refusing to go to the Hospital Wing, and a merry Sirius volunteered himself to accompany Remus and miss the rest of his lessons.

They headed up in silence, all Remus' willpower focused on not spewing his guts everywhere and/or kneeling over, and Sirius respected that.

* * *

When they pushed through the Portrait Hole, he sprinted for the stairs to their dormitory, feeling bile rising in his throat.

* * *

"Sirius...? You smoke?"

Remus stumbled across the dormitory hazily, his eyes half-closed. Sirius exhaled a plume of smoke and smiled aimlessly.

He was sat on the window ledge, the stick held between elegant, long fingers. His legs were dangling out, and his precarious balance was beginning to make Remus feel nauseated again.

"I've smoked since I was seven. Mother insisted." he replied, flicking a splutter of ash out of the window and tossing his long hair back.

Remus tilted his head slightly, confused. Words were about to tumble from his lips before Sirius interrupted.

"You look like a dog when you do that. A confused puppy."

A shiver ran down Remus' spine at the ironic animal imagery. Sirius grinned, unaware of this.

"I've always loved dogs." he continued, raising his eyebrows.

Sirius took a deep drag before turning to face the window. Remus could faintly make out plumes of smoke rising above the other boys' head, twisting and curling in a lazy waltz. Sirius coughed harshly, clearing his throat.

"But back to the topic on hand. You asked about the smoking, right? You'd think it'd be a sign of rebellion, an eleven year old smoking ten a day, but it was actually, I think, yeah, the only thing my mother and I have ever agreed on. She probably forced me into the habit thinking I'd kick it of cancer, but I'd never give her the satisfaction." Sirius grinned delightedly. "One thing I'm determined of...I'll be the one spitting on her grave, not the other way around."

"That's a little dark." Remus murmured, perching on the end of James' bed to steady his dizziness.

"Well, we are the Black family." Sirius said drily. Remus smiled.

"Why don't you just quit?" he asked inquisitively. Sirius shook his head.

"I love it too much." he said simply, and continued to smoke in silence.

* * *

An hour later, Professor McGonogall herself burst into the dormitory to drag a grinning Sirius back to class. Remus shot her a weak smile from where he was currently curled up in his bed, and she shot him a sympathetic look before ordering Sirius out, who patted his head as he left.

* * *

Remus lay there for the majority of the day, only moving to run back and forth between the toilet and his bed, which drained all of his energy.

* * *

Around dinnertime, James returned to collect a forgotten book and whistled softly.

"You look like shit, mate." he said bluntly, sweeping past and rummaging inside of his trunk.

Remus only groaned in response, arms wrapped around his stomach. He was visibly shaking.

"Do you wanna go Hospital Wing?" he asked, kneeling down next to Remus.

"Don't wanna move." Remus moaned, and James nodded.

"I'm coming back soon. If you look any worse, I'll drag you down there myself if I have to. Got it?" he commanded.

Remus nodded, too weak to do much else.

* * *

The three boys returned to the dormitory after class had ended to find a sickly-looking Remus passed out in the bathroom, next to the toilet.

Sirius grimaced, hoisting him up and dragging him to his bed, whilst James flushed and swilled the toilet, and Peter filled a glass of water for him.

Sirius lay him on the covers, shooting him a concerned look when his eyes opened a slit.

"I think I should go to the Hospital Wing now." he murmured, and blacked out once more.

* * *

The next thing he remembered was waking up in the softly-lit Hospital Wing, a concerned Madame Pomfrey leant over his bed, taking his temperature.

"Why do I feel so bad, Madame Pomfrey?" he groaned.

"You're adjusting to a new place. It's bound to improve in the next few transformations, but for now...brace yourself for a rough night, Mr. Lupin."

* * *

In the next hour, Remus' condition didn't improve, but on the plus side, it didn't get any worse. In fact, with a quick Replenishing Potion, he felt a lot stronger. But he knew it was just so he'd have enough energy to get himself down to the Willow.

Madame Pomfrey, in fact, went with him to the tunnel. He watched as she froze the violently angry tree he had witnessed, and slipped them both under the immobile branches into a gloomy hole in the trunk.

Maybe ten minutes later, they emerged in a dusty, decrepit room that looked like it hadn't been used in years.

"This will be home to you once a month for the next seven years, Mr. Lupin. Good luck." she said grimly, and headed back up the way they'd come.

He watched her disappear into the shadows longingly. Oh, how he wished he could follow her, and escape this for one night, where he could sleep...

Remus fell to the ground as a torrent of agony exploded through him.

An agonised scream ripped through his chest as he felt every bone in his body snap, fire raging through his nerves and rampaging his brain, snapping and biting at every inch of him until he was flailing, which only worsened the pain.

He was trapped in a circle of excruciation, of fire-breathing monsters flaring their snouts and sinking red-hot teeth of pain into every part of him.

He felt his fingers elongate, felt fur explode out of every part of his skin, as his clothes ripped off and he grew a snout.

He morphed into a wolf, a furious wolf in very unfamiliar territory, and lost everything that meant anything to him in the first howl the wolf let out as it began to destroy the room.

* * *

He woke in a world of pain.

His eyes snapped open to see a dusty roof, slightly illuminated by carefree sunlight streaking across it. He stayed motionless, his eyes fixed on a small clump of dirt drifting aimlessly across the air, taking shallow, cautious breaths.

His naked back was pressed into a splintered floor, his palms spread out on it. His foggy brain barely registered the shards of wood jabbing into him as it had all his other injuries to contend with.

Blood was dripping into his left eye, and he daren't reach to wipe it. So he blinked it rapidly, trying to clear his sight.

Someone had just opened the door, and they were approaching him with gentle footsteps.

He rolled his eyes back in confusion, and caught a glance of a worried matron, armed with a blanket, fresh pyjamas, slippers, and bandages.

"Oh, Mr. Lupin." she murmured, moving out of his line of vision.

He still didn't move, just lay on the draughty floor.

She staunched his visibly bleeding wounds with the bandages, a temporary fix, and covered him with the blanket.

He realised that was his cue to move, and winced in anticipation.

Getting up was an explosion of red behind his eyelids.

He was in a haze, hardly breathing, somehow pulling on the clothes handed to him robotically as he tried not to sob out.

Standing proved to be almost impossible, and Remus knew soon, he was going to collapse.

* * *

He had no idea how he'd managed the walk across the grounds, from the shack and back to Hogwarts, but suddenly they were in the Hospital Wing, and Remus fell gracelessly onto the nearest bed as his trembling legs gave out completely. A few tears slipped out, and he was shushed by Madame Pomfrey, who shoved a Sleeping Draught down his throat.

Sleep proved to be the best thing he'd ever felt, as he slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

His second awakening proved to be not-so-painful.

Madame Pomfrey had fixed everything except the ache in his bones and the slashes across his face.

He turned with a groan, and started when he was met by three pairs of eyes.

Two hazel, two watery blue, and two silvery-grey.

"What happened, Remus?" James asked in a low voice.

"I got ill. I came down here. What more is there?" he moaned, and Sirius gestured to his face with a frown.

With a shock, Remus remembered the slashes, and stalled, searching desperately for a story.

"I, er, got in a fight. With some Slytherins." he rambled, and Sirius raised one elegant eyebrow.

Remus met his eyes obstinately, and Sirius and James both nodded, as though they'd accepted his story, but he saw the beginnings of disbelief in their eyes.

However, they seemed to trust him, and he was too tired to try and get anything more.

They sat with him until Madame Pomfrey made them leave, cracking easy jokes and circulating a lot of Chocolate Frogs. Peter had collected all of his homework assignments from the day he'd missed, placing them on the side with a small smile, and Remus shot him a huge, grateful grin, ignoring Sirius' incredulous snort and James' eye roll.

James and Peter bid their farewells and Sirius waved them away, lying down next to Remus to his surprise.

"I got you a present." he said with a smirk. "It's not homework, however, so don't get too excited."

Remus tiredly gave him a middle finger and Sirius winked, pulling out a bar of Honeydukes' toffee and dark chocolate in his long fingers.

Remus' eyes widened in shock, and he made a grab for it, manners surpassed by his intense craving for the sweet goodness of the chocolate.

Sirius, fortunately, didn't mind, and simply roared with laughter as Remus practically destroyed the entire bar with moans of pleasure, before passing out with a contented smile and a smudge of chocolate on his cheek.


End file.
